The staff from UD Trucks Hub Malaysia, with participation from sole distributor Tan Chong Industrial Equipment Sdn Bhd (TCIE), recently held a year-end corporate social responsibility (CSR) event that brought much merry and unique experiences for the children of Shelter Home in Petaling Jaya, Selangor.
The half-day event was filled with a variety of experiential activities which included a ‘get-to-know-a-truck’ road safety awareness, a live virtual tour of Singapore Zoo and a pen pal program with children from orphanage homes in the Philippines and Japan, where similar CSR event was also simultaneously held by UD Trucks’ staff in the region.
The event at Shelter Home kicked-off with a brief introduction given by Supriono Madayin, General Manager, UD Trucks Hub Malaysia, to the caregivers and children in attendance. In the introduction, he shared that the CSR initiative is a reflection of UD Trucks’ corporate purpose of creating better life for the people.
Shelter Home, which has been in existence since 1981, helps abused, abandoned, neglected or at-risk children in need of a safe place to live. Shelter Home also provides the children with education and counselling support. At present, the home is a safe haven for 35 children comprising boys and girls whose ages range from five to 18 years old.
“A part of UD Trucks’ ‘Better Life for the People’ means to engage with the less fortunate communities around us. One of the main activities we have been consistently conducting around the world is a traffic safety program for school-going children, with the aim to educate and impart awareness on ways to prevent traffic accidents, particularly those involving trucks. The children learn and participate in activities with actual heavy-duty trucks to demonstrate blind spots, be aware of the sheer size of the truck and the space required when turning corners,” shared Supriono.
An actual UD Quester heavy-duty truck was brought in by TCIE and stationed at the event to give the children a hands-on experience so as to help them understand the risks and safety precautions around trucks. The children’s interests were piqued throughout the activity which began with basic explanations about the truck’s chassis anatomy and the features inside the driver’s cab. The children were brought around the truck so that they could experience blind spot education at the rear, front and side of the vehicle.
Following a safety briefing on the correct way to get up and down from the driver’s cab, the children were then given the chance to climb onto the truck’s cab for a driver’s view to see what can and can’t be seen when driving a large truck. Their excitement was evident when they made a beeline for it.
Alongside the ‘get-to-know-a-truck’ session, they were also showed various animated road safety videos to further instill in them the basics of maintaining road safety rules and good pedestrian habits. The youngsters also participated in a simple and fun truck road safety pop quiz where everyone received a goodie bag.
Bringing further cheer to the children was a live and interactive virtual field trip to the Singapore Zoo guided by a ranger for the children to explore wildlife and get the zoo experience from their respective locations. The virtual tour brought the children to view up close the various animals like orang utans, giraffes, rhinoceroses, tigers and zebras, and the opportunity to learn about the animals’ habitats, diet and lifespan.
“Our aim in collaborating with the Singapore Zoo for the live and interactive virtual tour was to give children outside of Singapore the opportunity to explore the zoo as it may be difficult for them to physically visit it. It is also intended to bring fun and encourage them to develop an interest and appreciation of wildlife,” said Supriono.
In addition, a pen pal program was also organized for the children where they made new friends from the Philippines and Japan. “We took the opportunity to create a regional pen pal program for the children by matching each kid with another in the participating countries based on age group. They then get to meet and greet each other virtually, as the start of a new friendship that will be followed by letter exchanges. Our aim is to provide a wonderful opportunity for the children to make friends from other countries and offer support to each other. It is also great way to inspire cultural exchange and instill diversity in them,” he said.
GP Joseph, Senior Home Manager, Shelter Home shared, “One of our core missions is to help our children overcome their initial trauma and restore self-acceptance, dignity and trust in humanity. By doing so, we want to develop our children into well balanced, mature and positive members of society. We are very pleased that companies such as UD Trucks and TCIE have approached us to organize the activities for our children, which contributed towards their well-being.”
The event concluded with everyone treated to a lunch. Those interested in donating or visiting Shelter Home can call 03-79550663 or 011-26110663.
